


all we ever knew

by prettierodds



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, MacDennis - Freeform, One Shot Collection, Vignette, little one shots bc i don't know how to do plot, watch dennis and mac fall in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 18:22:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettierodds/pseuds/prettierodds
Summary: The only certain thing in mac's life is dennis





	all we ever knew

• •  
the only certain thing in macs life is dennis  


• •

they meet like a bad john green novel. 

sixteen and out of his depth (although the confident smirk on his face convinces otherwise) dennis reynolds is introduced to mac mcdonald (what the fuck kind of name is that anyway) during a drug deal. and by drug deal, it was two anxious high schoolers meeting behind the bleachers before sixth period to buy and sell weed. not exactly the hardcore, i-don’t-give-a-fuck rebel picture they were going for. they get better, though. throughout their junior year they both learn to still shaking hands and act nonchalant when questioned by authority. mac decides he likes being a low-profile pot dealer at a shitty high school in the center of philadelphia. dennis decides he likes buying overpriced pot from mac, even if he does insist on hanging out with that weird kid charlie who throws rocks at parked cars and claims he can talk to birds. 

~~~•~~~

mac has never been certain of much in his life, but by their senior year he is certain of one thing.  
a person.  
feelings toward a person, actually.  
mac is certain he is in love with dennis reynolds. (who also may be the biggest asshole mac has ever met) 

~~~•~~~

dennis has never been certain of much in his life, and the pattern continues throughout his last year of high school. he continues to smoke with mac and charlie and effortlessly (or so he says) glides through his classes as an honor student. he applies to a few choice schools with veterinary programs because it’ll at least make his parents happy. he still isn’t certain of much. 

~~~•~~~

the bell rings, cutting sharp through the air to dismiss fifth period. it’s an obnoxious noise, even outside by the bleachers. 

“you have a minute?”

“yeah of course, dude. what’s up?”

a lit cigarette is passed between deft fingers, repeating a dance they’ve perfected over the last two years. 

“i got in... to U-Penn. im leaving.”

there’s a moment of silence as mac tries not to cough out the smoke he just inhaled. he avoids looking at dennis and when his eyes start to water he tells himself it’s the cigarette. 

“congrats, den.” he wishes he could at least pretend to be happy. 

dennis doesn’t say anything else and holds out two fingers. 

at least this dance is consistent. 

~~~•~~~

you’ve reached dennis reynolds. leave a message and i’ll get back to you when i’ve got time. 

if mac gets the answering machine one more goddamn time he’ll throw his fist through a wall. 

breathe. 

“hey, dennis. it’s mac... again. it’s been awhile, dude. let me know if you plan on visiting, ok? shits been crazy here.”

that’s a lie. 

“i can’t wait to catch you up.”

truth. 

“so... see you soon, hopefully.”

wishful thinking. 

mac bitterly hangs up the phone and glances at the clock on his dresser, wondering how long is appropriate before he can call again. 

~~~•~~~

this is mac, leave a message at the tone and i’ll call ya soon. 

dennis sighs and doesn’t bother to leave a message. he’s sick of playing phone tag. the easy solution would be to go back home for a few days. see mac and charlie, maybe get lunch with his sister and coerce some money out of his father. there’s no doubt mac still has a stash somewhere, so they could even go and get high like back when they were sixteen and tried way too hard. 

but he won’t go back home. 

he convinces himself it’s because he needs to stay here and study, he doesn’t have extra money for the commute, he’s got a paper due in two weeks; but the real reason lurks in the back of his mind, threatening to spill over into emotions he doesn’t have time for. 

he knows if he goes home, to see friends for a few days,  
(to see mac for a few days)  
he won’t want to come back.

dennis sits at his desk and pours over a textbook he doesn’t remember buying much less opening. 

~~~•~~~

a shock to no one, dennis doesn’t finish vet school. 

he comes home to harsh criticism from his parents and complete indifference from dee and charlie. for some reason his only three friends in the world are gathered at charlie’s junky apartment. dee smirks at him from across the room and murmurs something like “welcome back to the shit show, boner” and dennis manages to ignore her. he tries to greet charlie but the man is... occupied, muttering about rats and holding an almost empty spray can in a sock; his nose is tinged silver. 

and mac....

mac looks at dennis with his stupidly wide puppy eyes and smiles a bit. 

“i’m glad you’re home” he says softly as they hug. not a real hug, though; the bro-thing where you grab each other’s arms and pull in towards your chest, the other hand clapping your bro’s back. 

that kind of hug. 

dennis still smiles, though, and he tries not to dwell on how different mac looks from the scrawny, short high school senior he left him as three years ago. now he looks his age, more confident with hope twinkling in his eyes and damn if it’s not attractive. 

dennis takes a step back and spends his first hour home arguing stupid shit with charlie and dee. 

if mac spends the whole time trying to catch dennis’ eye he pretends not to notice. 

~~~•~~~

dennis and mac stand outside the bar—their bar—with crossed arms and somewhat worried expressions. 

“was this a mistake?”

“a mistake? mac, it’s a bar. Bars are full of mistakes.” 

“hm.”

maybe it had been a bit irresponsible to blow their entire life savings (plus the meager cash charlie pulled out of his wall the morning they bought the damn place) on a failing bar in center city philadelphia but... it was something they were doing together (plus charlie). 

they would make it work somehow.

“paddy’s pub is a dumbass name, though” dennis muses. 

“yeah we should definitely change that” mac agrees, laughing a little. 

they stand there in silence for another few minutes, the air around them curiously full of possibilities and change. 

~~~•~~~

dee and dennis are drunkenly spilled out over the bars counter. dennis is on his... seventh beer? could it be eighth? he lost track of the shots about an hour ago. doesn’t matter; he’s drunk and it feels great. 

dee is droning on and on about some douchebag boyfriend and dennis isnt listening at all. he’s struggling to remember why he wanted to get blackout drunk on a wednesday.... it had something to do with mac. mac had hurt him. 

“did he? ha.. i didn’t think mac was strong enough to actually beat you up” 

dennis hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but maybe his train wreck of a sister could help him remember. 

“nah...no... i mean yes he did but...” dennis blinks, thinking hard. “it was, uh, my feelings. my feelings are hurt.”

dee laughs, reaching for her bottle. 

“no, i'm bein’ serious dee. my heart hurts.”

dee doesn’t say anything. 

“do you think he’s gon’ marry carmen?” 

it’s still silent. 

“man i hope not. that would suck.”

dennis doesn’t notice that his sister is passed out cold next to him. 

“unless he wanted to marry me. that wouldn’t suck” 

he loses his train of thought and manages to down his glass before he passes out next to his sister. 

if either of them remembers any of the conversation, they don’t bring it up the next day. 

~~~•~~~

it takes almost seven years for the next major development in their little gang. 

expect maybe it was more gradual than they admitted. 

the air in the conference room is stale and the smooth wooden table is littered with cigarette butts and styrofoam cups. 

“just come out, you’ll feel better.” dennis argues because he knows that’s what he should say as the best friend/enemy. 

“you’ll feel better!” dee echoes over top of him. charlie and frank are shouting their own two cents and mac still hasn’t made a noise. the arbiter hired for a two dollar lottery ticket dispute seems confused. no one blames her. 

mac quickly declares his sexuality and is awarded the (almost) worthless scratcher. 

‘gay rich mac’ won ten thousand dollars. 

the conference room explodes.

“whatever, alright, alright. just go back in.” 

“....huh?”

mac seems genuinely torn. dennis waits for him to laugh and say something about going to a strip club and picking up a hot girl with his newfound cash, but he doesn’t. 

he says something much worse. 

“actually i... i think i’m out now. yeah. i’m gay.”

dennis feels numb. 

“feels pretty good actually” mac leaves with his ridiculous bike. 

charlie, dee and frank are all chattering over each other varying forms of acceptance and ‘it’s about damn time’. dennis says what he thinks he should as the supportive best friend but isn’t really aware of anything. 

except, however, the fact that his entire relationship with mac 

(his entire world)

has changed completely. 

but his face remains steady and he throws in a “i still hate the guy” 

the others agree instantaneously. 

“it’s not a gay or a straight thing, it’s a mac thing” 

sometimes dennis can't decide which part of mac he hates the most. 

~~~•~~~

“happy valentine’s day” 

dennis’ ears are ringing and he’s physically shaking with emotions he can’t explain. first the rocket launcher, now mac is being... mac. 

he pretends not to notice mac didn’t tack a “bro” on the end of his sentiment. 

valentine’s day is still a bullshit holiday but... mac definitely knows him, that much was proven.

dennis is painfully aware of charlie, frank and dee standing a few feet away, still too close for comfort.

"Yeah," he manages, trying to put every single 'thank you' he's ever wanted to say into that one word. 

he thinks mac understands. 

~~~*~~~

the only thing certain in dennis' life is mac. 

**Author's Note:**

> title is a song from the head and the heart 
> 
> i love these guys, hope i did them justice  
> 


End file.
